A Taiwanese-British gay couple have become legal partners, one year after holding a wedding ceremony in Taiwan that received blessings from across the country.
Chao Shou-chuan (趙守泉), 25, and his partner, identified only as Andy, 76, from Leicester, England, registered their union at the Miaoli City Household Registration Office on Wednesday.
“It is really wonderful to see your spouse’s name written on the back of your identity card,” Chao said on Facebook that day. “Taiwan is a good country.”
Chao and Andy tied the knot at the Miaoli Railway Museum on Feb. 16 last year, drawing more than 500 well-wishers from across Taiwan who wanted to show their support for same-sex unions, which had not yet been legalized in the country at the time.
They originally planned to register their union on May 17 last year, the day that the legislation allowing gay marriages cleared the Legislative Yuan, and Andy returned to England in February of that year to apply for a certificate of non-impediment to prove that he was not already married, Chao said.
However, they postponed registering their marriage until after Taiwan had actually promulgated the legislation, he said.
Chao and Andy met when Chao was traveling in the UK four years ago as a sophomore college student. Andy is a retired engineer.
The couple decided to get married after dating for about two-and-a-half years, with the full support of Chao’s father.
The pair said that they plan to fly to England to register their union there later this year.
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